Egypt: Explosion near Egyptian intelligence building injures 6

CAIRO, (Xinhua): At least six people were injured by an explosion near the military intelligence building in Egypt’s Suez Canal city of Ismailia on Saturday, the army spokesman said.

A terrorist car bombing attacked the military intelligence headquarters in Ismailia, wounding six soldiers, Colonel Ahmed Ali said in a statement.

“This is the latest in a series of cowardly terrorist attacks by extremist elements against the Egyptian people, the army installations, and the state vital premises,” Ali added.

The blast destroyed part of the front wall of the compound and cause several cars in the area to catch fire, the statement added.

The official news agency MENA quoted a security official as saying that a second car bomb was found in the area, but experts managed to defuse it.

It added that some parts of the administrative building of the Suez Canal Authority have also been damaged.

Earlier, the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported on its website that at least four people were injured in the blast that also damaged three vehicles and the intelligence building, citing a medical source.

Ambulances and fire trucks have arrived at the scene, and the military forces are combing the area in search of the perpetrators.

On Aug. 8, five army personnel including four soldiers and one officer were killed when militants attacked a military patrol near Ismailia city; two days later, a booby-trapped car went off at a checkpoint in the Sinai Peninsula, leaving three soldiers and one policeman died and four others wounded.

Attacks against security forces and soldiers in the restive Sinai Peninsula and the Suez Canal cities have dramatically increased since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi by military on July 3, leaving dozens of soldiers and policemen killed.

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